The guys waiting for haircuts chuckle and toss in a barb of their own about Pfeifer's graying hair.

This is what Cordova loves about his job. The camaraderie. The banter with guys he's known and worked with for years. It's a place where guys can be guys, where they can talk about sports, cars, girls, hunting, fishing, current events and sometimes a little politics.

Barbershops adapt to changing attitudes, clientele.

This is where Cordova feels at home and why he recently bought Frank's, at 1021 S. Lemay Ave. It's what he fears will be lost if a younger generation of barbers fails to pick up the clippers.

"We are losing the old, sit-around-and-shoot-the-breeze" barbershop, said Jay Palmer, franchise owner of Floyd's 99 Barbershop in Northern Colorado, an upscale salon for men with two Fort Collins locations. "It has nothing to do with barbering and everything to do with society and the fact that everyone walks in with smartphones. They're busy."

As men's beauty products grow into a $3 billion industry, the lines between salon and barbershop — and barber and hairstylist — are more blurred and competition greater than ever. Convenient haircut stores such as Cost Cutters and Supercuts have positioned themselves in strip malls and Walmarts, offering customers a quick and affordable haircut.

Hybrids, like Floyd's 99 Barbershop and Sport Clips, offer enhanced services such as neck and shoulder massages, facials and a vast array of haircare products.

Larimer County has 53 licensed barbers and 1,213 licensed cosmetologists, according to the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure. The number of barbers with active and new licenses has grown in the past five years, but there were just 2,237 licensed barbers in the state in 2013 and 148 new licenses issued last year.

Training for barbers and cosmetologists is similar. Both can cut, style and color hair. Cosmetologists can't give a straight-razor shave, and a barber can't do a manicure. Both are licensed and regulated by the state of Colorado.

"The barber industry is kind of a dying breed," said Cordova, well-known throughout Fort Collins as a musician as well as barber. "It's hard to find barbers; there are not that many of us anymore."

Cordova employs one other barber, Clint McGinnis, who said longtime customers come in and don't even need to tell him what they want, he already knows.

At Floyd's 99, 80 percent of clientele is men and only 15 to 20 percent of his 30 employees are licensed barbers, Palmer said.

Sammie's Lucky 27 Barbershop and Social Club, 1205 W. Elizabeth St., in Campus West, employs three barbers and no stylists, said manager Michael Lynn. Sammie's is an old-fashioned barbershop with a "different type of energy," he said. Like most barbers, Sammie's doesn't take appointments, creating an atmosphere where customers wait their turn and conversation is king.

"In the same sense that personal service is important, conversation is important," he said. Lynn tells his barbers they better know what's going on in the world because "there will be guys coming in here and they will have to have a conversation. There's no TV in here ... no distractions. The only thing moving in the shop is the barber."

Somewhat like a bartender, Lynn said a good barber is part marriage counselor, girlfriend counselor and fashion consultant. What is said at the barbershop stays at the barbershop.

Blast from the past

For some men, going to the barber is as much about nostalgia and their own first trip to the barbershop with their dad as it is the haircut.

"It's just a great experience," Cordova said. "Every young boy ought to experience it at least once. It's an American tradition."

Derek Smotherman, 42, read the paper Wednesday morning waiting for Cordova to finish with Pfeifer. "This is where guys belong," he said. "It's good guy fellowship ... we chitchat and maybe we're a little more candid here."

Smotherman sells cars for Markley Motors and typically gets his hair cut midweek on his day off. He also brings his 11-year-old son, passing the tradition on to the next generation.

Randy Walsh said he has always gone to a barber. "Maybe because my father always took me. It's all I've ever known."

For others, a haircut is less about the camaraderie and more about personal grooming, self-esteem and maybe a little pampering, too.

"It's important to look good if you're in business ... and want to be successful," said Palmer, who admitted to being a little vain. "I believe it starts with your appearance and I have to admit it's helped me every step of the way."

London-based research group Mintel found U.S. men's grooming markets grew 20 percent between 2007 and 2012 with another 16 percent growth expected by 2017. Nearly 60 percent of American men said personal care products boosted their self esteem, and one in three men admitted moussing their hair every day.

Lloyd Gomez hangs up clippers.

Today's trends

Walk into Floyd's 99 and men (and women) can rock out to the latest tunes, zone out to the TV, or enjoy a little pampering with a massage, facial or hot towels on their faces to open their pores.

It's a stark contrast to more bare-bones shops like Frank's, which still has a traditional barber pole out front, hot coffee any time of day, three to four chairs and sinks, and that's about it.

Lynn, manager at Sammie's Lucky 27, said his family-owned shop is a blend of old world and new world. He employs three barbers, no stylists.

"We're from New York so barbershops are very traditional still and their services are very creative," Lynn said. "It's almost like passing of the sword back there. Young barbers take over historic barbershops. That's not the case here."

Lynn chuckles at the requests he gets from customers. The biggest trend today: the hairstyle sported by Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street," which he refers to as the James Dean haircut of the '50s.

"There's not a traditional barber in this town that can't do a haircut as well as a more contemporary barber, but I doubt a young guy would walk in to a traditional shop and ask for that haircut."

Lynn bills his shop as an older, traditional barbershop. "But we are the CSU campus barbers and get between 1,200 and 1,500 young males who come through, and the styles are everything from a guy wanting to look like (singer) Macklemore to professors and local businessmen with traditional haircuts and everything in between."